


Love and Other Abstract Concepts

by marvelousmsmol



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, F/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Unrequited Love, Witch AU, chaotic narrators alya and nino
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27209839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelousmsmol/pseuds/marvelousmsmol
Summary: The festival that comes every year isn’t anything special, but when a thousand year old folklore dictates that those who spend are together on this particular night in this particular year will share the rest of their lives, Alya comes up with an over convoluted plan to ensure that the confession between Adrien and Marinette finally happens, and it may or may not take just a little magic to help.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 11
Kudos: 125





	Love and Other Abstract Concepts

**Author's Note:**

> Mollie’s 300 Follower Baking Extravaganza is here! I asked my followers to send me single word suggestions to use in my fic and, boy, did they deliver some good ones. I’m excited to share the finished product. Thanks to @sukker-sugar for beta reading and a very special thanks to @deinde-prandium who stayed up till 2:30 AM to make final edits for me. I’m very grateful to all the amazing help she’s given while I was writing this, especially in the moments when I considered tossing the whole thing multiple times. She’s the reason this still exists ❤️
> 
> Ingredients: Apple // witches // laser // roommates // marinate // frozen // folklore // lovesick // nonsensical // defenestration // fandom // floccinaucinihilipilification // chocolate

“You’re not going to get anywhere dressing like that,” Alya said from the doorway as she watched Marinette pull the thick, black tights up her legs. “I thought the point was to make him confess his mad, undeniable love to you.”  
“What’s wrong with the way I’m dressing?” Marinette said, letting her knee-length skirt fall as she stood up from the bed. “It’s cold.”

“Yes, and then you say, “Oh, Monsieur Adrien, this is just too much for my fragile, womanly constitution,’” Alya said, splaying herself across the door and putting a hand to her chest. “Won’t you please lend me your coat, or better yet, wrap your strong, manly arms around me to keep me warm?” 

Marinette looked at her friend with a blank expression, clearly not amused by her antics. “I’m wearing tights.” 

“Suit yourself,” Alya said with a shrug. “But, you still have much to learn about the ways of subtle flirting.” 

“You don’t really pull this kind of stuff with Nino, do you?”

“Yes, I do,” Alya said. “And, that’s why I have him eating out of the palm of my hand.” 

Marinette just shook her head as she gathered up her coat and purse and headed out into the kitchen, where Nino was busy making dinner. He smiled as he saw her enter and set down the spoon he was using to stir the soup on the stove. “Hey, is Adrien coming up here?”

“No, he’s meeting me outside,” Marinette said. “I don’t see why you and Alya can’t come with us. We do this every year.”

“Excuse me for wanting to spend the most romantic event of the century at home with my fiancé, and ensure our eternal happiness and prosperity,” Alya said. 

“Alya, you take that way too seriously,” Marinette said, shaking her head. “You think that some crazy person a thousand years ago saying that a full moon on this particular night in this particular year is going to be the magical answer to happiness?”

“Who cares if it’s true?” Alya said. “That’s not the point.”

“And, what is?” Marinette asked.   
“The fact that you’re asking means not even a full university lecture course and a thousand diagrams could tell you,” Alya said. “Just go on using your practical magic, and leave the powers of love and other abstract concepts to the true experts.” 

Marinette shook her head as she pulled her coat on and put the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “Fine, you two have a nice, boring night in. Adrien and I are going to enjoy the food stalls without you,” she said, sticking her tongue out at her best friend. “You know, getting married doesn’t mean you have to turn into your parents.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Alya said, waving her off with a sly smile on her face. 

As Marinette headed towards the door, an idea crossed Alya’s mind - the kind that required a sinister look in her eye and wink to Nino. Nino’s expression turned to one of fear, and he mouthed at her,  _ “What are you doing?!”  _

Swiping a glass vial off the counter, Alya headed over to Marinette, stopping her just as she was about to leave. “Wait,” Alya said, shoving the vial into Marinette’s coat pocket before she could say anything. “You have to take this with you.”

“What,” Marinette said, reaching into her pocket. Alya’s hands shot out, stopping her. “What is this?”   


“It’s my Alya Césaire Guide to Love 101 crash course starter pack,” Alya said. Marinette quirked an eyebrow, but slowly removed her hand from her pocket, leaving the object inside. Alya sighed. “It’s a love potion, Marinette.”

“What?!” Marinette screeched, immediately trying to get rid of the wretched object. Alya held tight to her friend’s wrists. 

“Marinette-”   


“NO!”

“Marinette, you have to-”   


“No, I don’t want this thing!” 

“MARINETTE,” Alya shouted. “Just calm down!”

The shouting stopped all at once, but Marinette still tried to pull against her friend’s hold. Alya took deep breaths until Marinette was matching them. 

“Marinette,” Alya said calmly. “This has to stop. You and Adrien have known each other for eight years, you’ve been  _ roommates  _ for three. If you’re not going to get together tonight, then it’s never going to happen. So, you can confess to him, or you can use the  _ less conventional  _ method - but either way, the two of you better show up here tomorrow morning as a couple. Otherwise, I am going to strangle both of you. Got it?” 

Marinette didn’t speak; she just nodded slowly. Alya turned her around and opened the door, pushing her unwillingly through the threshold. “Okay, have fun.”

Alya slammed the door shut behind her, stranding Marinette in the hallway. The girl was either going to sink or swim at some point, but Alya sincerely hoped she hadn’t just drowned her. 

“Uh, babe,” Nino said, peeking out from the kitchen. “Are you sure that was really the best course of action? You might have just ruined everything.”

The gleam in Alya’s eye returned, and she wandered back into the kitchen to sit at the dining room table, putting a skip in her step as she went. “Oh, trust me. Everything is going to go according to my plan.” 

Nino joined Alya at the table, setting down two mugs of hot chocolate in front of them. “You seem extremely confident in that,” he said. “Seeing as you just gave your best friend a potentially dangerous object.” 

“She’ll use it wisely,” Alya said with a decisive nod. “I have complete faith in her.” 

“But, you can’t predict everything they’re going to do,” Nino said. 

Alya leaned back in her chair. “Hmm… Can’t I?” 

.*.*.*.*.

_ “They’re going to meet downstairs and have some sort of awkward conversation…” _

Marinette stood out on the sidewalk, coat and scarf wrapped tightly around her to keep out the cold. She was glancing down either side of the street with an almost frantic shake of her head. Adrien was five minutes late now, but she didn’t want to bother him with texts. There wasn’t any need to be worried just yet. 

With a sigh, Marinette reached into the pocket of her coat and withdrew the glass vial wrapped in tissue paper. The light pink glow of the liquid inside shined through, a glaring reminder of what was inside. It was even more of a weight in her hand than her pocket, her eyes a camera that added a thousand pounds to the object. 

Because, this…this would make him fall in love with her. 

“What have you got there?”

Marinette screamed, startled by the voice beside her. The vial of love potion went tumbling out of her hands, and seconds before it hit the ground, the cause of her rapidly beating heart (in more ways than one) bent down and caught it out of the air. He stood up quickly, his blond locks whipping backwards to reveal a familiar set of green eyes. 

“Hmm,” Adrien said, lifting the vial up in the air and inspecting the pink glow that emanated from it. “What’s this?”

“It’s nothing,” Marinette said quickly as she snatched the vial out of his hands and stuffed it back into her pocket. “Something my mom wanted me to pick up for her.” 

“Oh,” Adrien said. “For dinner tomorrow night? That’s still on right?”

Marinette sighed. “Yes,” she said. “I tried to get us out of it. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Why?” Adrien asked. “I was looking forward to it.” 

“They always end up asking you weird questions,” Marinette said, pushing a piece of her hair back behind her ears. 

“They just want to know how you’re doing,” Adrien said. “And, they know that I’ll answer honestly.” 

“Right,” Marinette said, nodding, though she was not at all in agreement. She knew for a fact that her parents didn’t ask their slightly invasive questions about Marinette and Adrien’s life in their two bedroom apartment because they were worried that their daughter wasn’t eating enough. They sent enough food over for that to never be a problem. 

Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng were just number 5 on the long list of people who had been wondering forever when Adrien and Marinette were actually going to start dating. The questions were just a way to see if they could pry out of the oblivious boy exactly when the day would be. 

Most likely because they were trying to win money off of some bet with Nino and Alya. 

Adrien looked at the watch on his wrist. “It’s only eight-thirty,” he said. “We’ve got time before the light show.”

“A couple people asked if we would make appearances,” Marinette said. “We can stop in 

for about twenty minutes each and then head to the Eiffel Tower?” 

“Sounds perfect to me,” Adrien agreed, pulling up the hood of his sweatshirt underneath his tan coat. He looked down at Marinette with a smile. that made her both blush and remember Alya’s little “gift” at the same time; the result was less of a smile and more of a bright red grimace. Adrien frowned at her expression but, to her surprise, didn’t comment on it. Luckily, she further avoided any questioning as they started walking together towards their destination. 

.*.*.*.*.

_ “...And, they’re going to Luka’s party first, right? Well, Luka’s band is playing a set, so there’s bound to be some overlap in the “crazed Adrien fangirls” and “Luka Couffaine stans” venn diagram there…”  _

Marinette and Adrien left the riverbank and stepped onto the  _ Liberty _ , which was all decked out in bright colored decorations for the festival celebration. Adrien readjusted his hood as they came aboard, and Marinette couldn’t help but laugh at the action.

“You really think that’s going to stop the insanely dedicated Adrien Agreste fandom from figuring out it’s you?” she said, pulling on the drawstrings and closing the hood around his face. 

Adrien laughed, trying to uncover his face while keeping the drawstrings at an even level. “It’s annoying, and I’d like to avoid an encounter if all possible,” he said. “I don’t know why you haven’t left me yet because of it.”

“You think I’d force the kids to separate?” The “kids,” were, of course, their two cats, which they had both separately brought home on the same day. 

“Right. Plagg can’t live without Tikki,” Adrien joked. 

Marinette smiled softly. She couldn’t help but enjoy the little bit of domesticity their relationship had now. The dinners together, movie nights, Saturday afternoon cleaning sessions. Living together was almost like being in love. 

Which is what made it all the more painful.

“Hey! Come on,” Adrien said excitedly, grabbing onto Marinette’s hand and dragging her through the crowd. “We’ll get a great view of the stage up there.”

Adrien led Marinette up the stairs to the upper deck. His grip on her hand was loose, but Marinette chose to stay within his grasp. She often did. Adrien’s boldness in taking her hand was a common occurrence. He joked, laughing it off by saying that it was because she was so short, and he was worried about losing her in the crowd. As much as Marinette tried to hide it, she loved the gesture, and knew that the intentions behind it were not the ones that he voiced. Genuinely, Marinette wanted to believe that he just wanted to hold her hand. 

_ Adrien is just touchy,  _ she told herself.  _ That’s just the way he is. _

The speakers weren’t so loud where they were standing, and they had a clear view of the dance floor on the deck below. 

“Oh, woah. Look,” Adrien said, pointing down with his free hand. 

Someone on the dance floor below had sent a flurry of sparkling, iridescent bubbles up into the air above the crowd. Some people had begun popping them as they came close to the crowded sea of people. Others pulled out their wands, multiplying them, covering the sky above. Lights from the stage and lanterns strung all around the ship bounced off the bubbles, making beautiful rainbow lights shine down from above. 

Marinette saw one that was descending, floating closer and closer to her. She reached into her coat, taking her wand out of its inner pockets. With a flourish, Marinette extended her hand towards the brightly colored bubble, pink sparks shooting out of her wand and spiraling through the air. The bubble exploded as the sparks impacted, sending shimmering glitter all around them like thousands of tiny ladybugs flying through the air. 

All it took was one look, and Adrien pulled his wand out as well. His gestures were much sharper, contrasting Marinette’s flowing and graceful movements completely, but as his magic mixed with her own, they created a perfect blend. Marinette’s glowing pink ladybugs danced and flowed amongst the Adrien’s dark wisps of mist and haze, creating a swirling pattern that looked like a thousand tiny stars of a galaxy in some far off corner of space. 

But, it was there above them, and it belonged to them. 

As the music from the stage below began to ramp up to the end, the black hole at the center of their galaxy pulled the stars in, enveloping them as their light faded. Just as the last chord rang out, the quickly collapsing galaxy exploded into a supernova of fireworks and light. 

The crowd was still cheering long after the music had died out, and down on stage. Luka leaned into the mic. “Thank you, once again we are Kitty Section! We’ll be back in a bit, so don’t go anywhere!”

Marinette and Adrien slowly lowered their wands as the magic dissipated. He leaned over closer to her, his lips just inches away from Marinette’s ear. Adrien spoke loudly over the crowd. “That was pretty good for our first time practicing out of class,” he said over the cheers of the people around them. “I think it was well received!”

“You did well,” Marinette shouted back, unsure of how else to respond. In class they were always partnered up, their magic working together in ways that even the most experienced witches and wizards could hope to succeed in attempting. 

Still, the comment made Adrien smile at her, though she had certainly given it before. It wasn’t until Adrien squeezed her hand in thanks that she realized they were still intertwined. 

“I thought it was you two upstaging us!” Luka’s voice seemed to come out of nowhere as he appeared between them, wrapping his arms around their shoulders and forcing their hands to finally separate. 

Marinette looked down at the ground as Luka squeezed them both tightly to his side. Rather than feel annoyed at the interruption, Marinette actually somewhat welcomed it. The fact that she had left her hand in Adrien’s for so long made her flush, and a pang of embarrassment hit her like a tidal wave. She looked over at him, scrutinizing the expression on Adrien’s face to see what exactly he felt about the situation. Before she could come to a conclusion, Adrien’s eyes met her own. There was no smile, no flirtatious wiggle of his eyebrows. Just a blank expression. One she couldn’t interpret. 

“I wasn’t sure when you guys were going to show up, but I’m glad you made it,” Luka said, and Marinette forced herself to turn her attention to him. 

She laughed. “We wouldn’t miss it.” 

“I have a few minutes before I have to go back onstage,” Luka said, glancing around. “Where are Alya and Nino? I wanted to say hi.”

“They stayed home tonight,” Adrien answered. 

Luka looked up to where the full moon was hanging in the sky. “Understandable they’d want to be alone. You’re given the opportunity to decide who you spend the rest of your life with, you should probably take it,” Luka said, a wistful smile on his face. He looked back and forth between Adrien and Marinette, the same smile still there. “But, hey, you guys are spending tonight together…”

It took Marinette a second to realize the implications of his words. She froze, stuttering, trying to find a way to refute Luka’s implied claim. 

Adrien ended up being faster. “We’re just planning on binging on food like always,” he said, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck. He was looking away, down at the floor, and Marinette couldn’t quite catch what else he was mumbling to himself. “Nothing special. If it did turn out to be true, at least I’d end up somebody who I could share the rent with for the rest of my life.” 

“You guys-” Luka paused. “You guys don’t believe it’s true?”

“I think it’s hard to believe a folklore that has no reputable sources,” Marinette said. “If people end up spending the rest of their lives together after tonight it'll be because they wanted to.”  
Luka seemed to be about to open his mouth to respond when he was interrupted by a high pitched squeal, and Marinette was pushed away from the other two by an intruding figure. She stumbled, but caught herself on the railing. Adrien, blocked by both Luka and the new person, had been reaching for her, and let out a sigh of relief that she had kept herself from falling over completely.

“Oh my God, hi, sorry,” the girl gushed, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. “Can I get your autograph?”  
“Uh, sure,” Luka said, smiling nervously as he reached out for the pen and paper in her hands. 

.*.*.*.*.

_ “...Once someone recognizes Adrien, it’s game over. Personally, I’d like to see the kind of daring, but unnecessary, escape they make.”  _

.*.*.*.*.

The girl let out another squeal of delight, and as she glanced around noticed Adrien, who was desperately trying to cover his face with his hood. “Oh my God, Oh my God! You’re- You’re Adrien Agreste,” the girl shouted, unfortunately drawing the attention of the others around them. “I saw the photoshoot you did for  _ The Necromantic _ last week. You looked amazing! Can I have your autograph, too?!” 

“Uhh… Well,” Adrien said. Marinette could tell he was trying to find a way to say no, even though he would end up saying yes anyway. Many an outing had been ruined by an impromptu autograph signing, and Marinette pretended she didn’t mind as much as she could. 

Adrien was looking at her, but the girl was effectively blocking her path, and more and more people were beginning to crowd around them. 

“Do you really want his?” Luka asked, stepping closer to the girl and wrapping an arm around her waist. He glanced over her shoulder, tossing Marinette a wink, before turning back to the girl with a smouldering look on his face guaranteed to make her melt. “How about I take you down to the stage and introduce you to the rest of the band?”

Marinette snuck around them and pushed her way over to Adrien’s side. A few more people had begun crowding him, but Marinette grabbed onto his hand and started dragging him along with her towards the door of the ship’s cabin. She threw Adrien inside first, shutting the door quickly and locking it behind her. Marinette leaned back against the wood, closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh, as though she had just escaped a horde of zombies. 

“Okay,” Marinette said, taking a deep breath. “We’ll just have to wait until this dies down in a bit, and then we’ll make a run for it-”

She opened her eyes and looked up to see Adrien crouched up on a dresser over by one of the windows, trying to pry it open. 

“Adrien, what are you doing?” Marinette questioned. He stopped momentarily, looking like a small child that had just been caught trying to steal cookies off the kitchen counter, before turning back to his frantic work. Shecrossed over to him, grabbing onto hands and trying to pull him down. “Adrien, stop!”

“I’m not going back out there,” Adrien shouted. He was breathing heavily. “I don’t want to go back out there.”

Marinette’s hands went limp, and he pulled out of her grasp. Grunting in frustration, Adrien tugged on sliding glass to no avail. He pulled out his wand, jumping down off of the dresser, and blasted the window off of the wall. Eyebrows furrowed, he let out an angry growl, one that Marinette had never heard from him before. In fact, Marinette was sure she had never seen him this upset before.

“I’ll pay Luka back later,” Adrien said. 

“Adrien, come on,” Marinette implored, tugging on the sleeve of his coat. “There’s an easier way to do this.”

“I don’t exactly want to try and walk out of here with everyone grabbing at me and screaming,” Adrien said. He grabbed onto her waist, lifting her up on the dresser with ease. 

Their faces were just inches away now, and Marinette could detect the strange sort of fear in his eyes. He had never really talked about how much he hated still being a model, and still working for his father, and still showing himself off to the rest of the world, but Marinette knew that he did. Even if she was scared, this moment here wasn’t really about her. It was about Adrien, the person who would truly be hurt if they didn’t leave together here and now, if she didn’t make the decision to protect.

But, still, the fall looked long and the water looked cold.

“Forgive me,” Adrien whispered, grabbing onto Marinette’s cheeks and placing a desperately sweet kiss to her forehead. Marinette lost herself in the sensation for a moment, and then jolted out of it as his lips left her, and his hands left, and she started falling. 

.*.*.*.*.

“Okay,” Nino said, bending down to put the empty mugs into the dishwasher. “Let’s say that Adrien is stupid enough to attempt something like that. Won’t that just ruin your genius plan? I mean, Marinette is bound to be super pissed at him.”

“Oh, darling lover of mine,” Alya said. “You still have very much to learn.”

.*.*.*.*.

Marinette coughed and sputtered as she sat on the concrete bank of Seine, a ways downriver from where the  _ Liberty _ was docked. She was now a sopping wet, cold mess; not even her heavy winter coat was keeping her warm, as it had been soaked through, as well. Her heart was still pounding in fear from her unexpected free fall, and Marinette figured it was best to get her breathing under control before she even bothered to think about dealing with her clothes. 

Reaching into her pockets, Marinette felt around first for her wand, and then her phone.er hand settled around something unfamiliar. Pulling out the object, Marinette realized that it was that little glass vial wrapped in tissue paper. She groaned, her head falling down to rest on her knees. Why couldn’t that have just fallen out? 

Marinette was startled as an outstretched hand appeared in her peripheral vision, and she looked up to see Adrien was standing there in front of her. He was waiting for her to take his hand, but Marinette just shoved the vial back into her pocket, hoping she could forget about it again, and pushed herself up to her feet on her own. 

“Are you alright?” Adrien asked. Marinette pretended not to hear the regret in his voice. She was already feeling a lot of things about him right now, and the last thing she wanted to feel was even more guilty. Adrien waited a moment for her to respond, and when she didn’t, he reached out towards her, grabbing at the fabric of her coat. “Here, you should get that off-”

Marinette smacked his hands away, stepping back away from him. Hurt flashed through Adrien’s eyes. She pulled out her wand, turning it towards herself and created a gust of air that almost knocked her off her feet. She wasn’t completely dry, but at least she wasn’t soaked anymore. 

“Marinette, I’m sorry,” Adrien pleaded. “I’m not- I wasn’t thinking clearly and I- please understand-”

“Why didn’t you just walk out of there?” Marinette asked suddenly, the words spilling out of her mouth. “Are you mad? That was utterly reckless of you!”

“Marinette, I-”

She didn’t wait for his words. Instead, Marinette turned her wand on him, blasting him with the same burst of hot air. Adrien, however, hadn’t been prepared for the blast - and fell backwards onto the ground. He groaned as the wind was knocked out of him, and rolled over onto his side, trying to get back up to his feet.

“There,” Marinette said, anger clearly displayed on her face. “You’re dry now.”

“Hey!” Adrien yelled. “That was completely unnecessary!”  
“Yeah, well, I think it’s good karma.”  
“I’m sorry I pushed you, okay?” Adrien argued. “It was wrong of me, completely wrong of me, but I couldn’t… I didn’t want to stay there another minute and I wasn’t about to leave without you.”

Marinette sucked in a deep breath. Looking down at her feet, she tried to banish all of her anger. Because, as her anger dissipated, she could remember the look of fear in his eyes, and the anxious, deep breaths he took as he fought to get the window open. 

She remembered that he had kissed her. Well, he had kissed her forehead, but Marinette had not had quite the same amount of time to process the action. Nothing that Adrien had his back to her, Marinette reached up and touched the spot with the tip of her fingers. It felt as though he had left a mark when he had done that, that now there was a big glowing red dot in the center of her forehead. 

It had been a preemptive apology, an attempt to make her understand his reasoning for everything. Marinette, however, wasn’t quite sure she was getting the message. Had he only done it so she maybe wouldn’t be as mad? If that was the case, then she was even more furious than before, because the kiss had made her freeze up. It had turned all of her senses against her, a cruel weapon to cloud her judgement in the way that only he could. 

Marinette wondered if he had known that would be the effect. 

“Did you-” Marinette said, taking another deep breath as Adrien placed his hands on his hips, still looking away from her. “Did you really need to leave that badly?” 

Adrien turned to face her, and Marinette wasn’t sure if his hair had still been dripping a little or if his cheeks were wet by other means. “I don’t like being crowded, and I don’t  _ want  _ people fawning over me. And-” Adrien paused, biting the inside of cheek. “And I didn’t like it when that girl came up and just pushed you out of the way. I didn’t like you just getting pushed away from me like you didn’t matter.

“I don’t want anyone to make it seem like you’re not important to me.” As Adrien spoke, Marinette reached out her hand, hoping to take his as a sign of comfort, of appreciation at his care. His words stopped her short, and she was forced to draw back. “You’re my friend, Marinette.” 

Marinette’s hand went limp at her side again. She faced the water, eyes staring directly across to the other bank. “Hey!” She shouted, her words reverberating back at her before falling silent once again. “Hey! _ Qu’est-ce que tu crois que c’est? Ne pouvez-vous pas nous laisser avoir cinq minutes de paix, bâtards!” _

Quiet returned, and Marinette turned back to Adrien. He was staring at her, breathing heavily, eyebrows furrowed in a confused expression.

“What? You can’t get angrier than that?” Marinette asked, scoffing. She grabbed onto the lapels of his coat - an action he clearly hadn’t been expecting judging by the startled expression on his face - and pulled him down to eye level. “Why can’t you yell and scream like the rest of us?!”

Adrien’s fists clenched. Breaking away, he turned on his heel and began walking towards the steps that led up to the bridge. “You can’t look like you’re happy if you’re that angry all the time,” he said over his shoulder. 

Marinette stood on the riverbank, looking down at the dark water. She reached her hand back into her pocket and drew the vial back out again, simply staring at it. Her mind was screaming to just toss it in, lose the potion and the guilt she was forced to carry with it to the Seine, but Marinette placed it back into her pocket. 

“Happy?” she asked aloud, though no one else was around to hear her. She began walking quickly to catch up with him, still muttering under her breath. “What else can I do at this point to make you happy?  _ Je t’aime déjà,  _ idiot.”

.*.*.*.*.

“Okay, but wouldn’t this throw everything off for the rest of the night, though?” Nino asked. “I mean, if Adrien does something stupid, which I don’t doubt he will, and Marinette gets angry with him, they’ll just spend the rest of the night that way, right?”  
“Marinette doesn’t get angry about things like that,” Alya said, standing up from the table and heading into the kitchen. All Nino could do now was follow her. “Marinette gets angry about dishes being left in the sink, and when people don’t buy milk when she asks them to. Anything else, Marinette gets disappointed, not angry.” 

Alya leaned into the fridge and pulled out the leftover pizza they were having for dinner. “By this point, they’ll both have a strange concoction of different mixed up feelings - some of which have been marinating for years, by the way - and all they’ll need now is a little spark.” 

“I’m worried what you’re going to say next,” Nino said, leaning back in his seat. 

“Well,” Alya said, pausing to take a bite of the pizza. “She still has the little gift I gave her right?”   
  


.*.*.*.*.

_ “So, they’re heading to Kim and Max’s place next, which means there'll be plenty of chaos...” _

Marinette and Adrien had to duck as soon as the door opened in order to avoid a plastic cup that was being thrown at the wall. They had been able to hear the bass pounding from the hallway, but now that they were completely exposed to it, it was almost deafening. Mixed with the sounds of laughter and excited screaming, the noise was barely tolerable. 

“Gotta love one of Kim’s ragers,” Adrien shouted over the music. “It’s been a while since he’s thrown a proper one!”

Even if he was trying to point on a light and airy front, the blank and cold look on his face gave away his true feelings. Now was not the time to comment on it, however, and Marinette doubted he would hear her if she even tried. 

Someone rushed past them with a tray of drinks in hand, and it took Marinette a moment before she recognized the glass and green colored shirt that Max was always obsessed with wearing.

“Max!” Marinette shouted, trying to get his attention. She pursued him, and tugging on the back of his shirt seemed to startle him more than she had expected. It took a moment before the fear subsided, and relief crossed his face.

“Oh, good, the two of you are here,” Max said. 

“I thought you two were having a casual party,” Marinette said. 

“Well, it seems some people brought guests,” Max replied, “even after I told Kim to specifically tell them not to bring anyone else.” 

Marinette grimaced at the sound of glass breaking somewhere, and reached out to take the tray of dirty cups from Max’s hands. “Here, let me take that.” 

“I need to find Kim,” Max said, wringing his hands nervously as he glanced around the crowded room. “He needs to start kicking people out.”

“Don’t worry,” Adrien offered. “I’ll go.”  
Marinette reached out as he turned away, her finger tips narrowly missing him. “Adrien! Hold on,” she said, but he disappeared into the crowd within moments. Marinette sighed and looked down at the tray in her hands. “Come on, let’s go to the kitchen and see if we can’t at least clean up.” 

Marinette made her way into the kitchen, trying to balance the tray in her hands as people bumped into her from all sides. She set the tray unceremoniously on the counter next to the sink and started dropping the dirty cups in the cold, bubbly water. She scrubbed furiously and set them in the drying rack with a little more force than was probably necessary. 

Max sucked in a deep breath and bit his lip, like he was considering whether or not to voice what was sitting just on the tip of his tongue. “You know,” he said, leaning back against the kitchen counter, “you’re the one who’s going to have to go wait in line at Ikea if you break those.” 

The hand about to slam another cup down stopped midair, and after a moment, Marinette set it down as carefully as possible in the rack with others. She went back to washing with a slightly less frenzied manner. “Sorry.” 

“Are you okay?” Max asked. “You seem…”

“No, no. No, no, no,” Marinette said, shaking her head. “Everything’s fine.” 

Max narrowed his eyes, “Okay… So, if there’s nothing wrong, do you want to explain why Adrien stormed off?”

“Ah,” Marinette said. “I think that’s my fault.”

Marinette set down the glass she had been cleaning and turned around to lean against the counter. “There may have been something involving me screaming into the void after he… pushed me out of a window.” 

“Wow,” Max said, scoffing. “Um, I mean, It’s- It’s easy tell that he has some pent up aggression, but I never thought that would result in him committing defenestration-” 

“No.” Marinette held up her hand stopping him from continuing. “No, I’m not mad about that at all. I feel like… I probably should be? I guess it’s the first time I’ve seen him do something about his feelings. He never voices any of his opinions, and I want him to.”

“...Floccinaucinihilipilification,” Max said. Marinette looked over and raised her eyebrows at what sounded like complete, nonsensical gibberish that had just come out of his mouth. Max sighed. “It’s how he sees himself. He sees his own thoughts and opinions as worthless, probably due to the years of harsh conditioning used to turn him into the magic world’s Golden Boy. The only thing matters are the perceptions that other people have of him, so his self, his true self, has no value to anyone, not even him.”

Biting the inside of her lip, Marinette pondered the meaning of the word in her head, though she doubted she was actually saying it right at all. She had noticed it before, the way Adrien tended to close himself off, to put on a fake persona in the presence of others. It wasn’t even just in front of fans. Marinette had gone to countless dinners with Gabriel Agreste as Adrien’s main source of moral support, and every time Adrien managed to show himself to be the perfect, doting son. She’d never heard it be put into words, however, and as it registered in her brain she could feel her heart sinking down into her stomach. 

“Do you think-” Marinette paused, biting her lip as her hand reached down into the pocket of her coat. “Do you think he could ever change that?”

“I don’t know. That seems more like a question for you than me,” Max said. “You’re the one who knows him best.” 

The fact that Marinette seemed like the person best to know how to nurture Adrien’s happiness made her even more nervous. She didn’t know any other way to do that than just to be his friend, and that had been what had gotten her into the situation of being his roommate for more than three years now. 

“Max, would you mind taking a look at something for me?” Marinetted asked, drawing the vial out of her pocket.

“Uh, sure,” Max said, taking the object from her and unwrapping it from the tissue paper. He held it up to the light for a moment, looking carefully at the contents. “What’s it supposed to be?”

“A love potion.” 

Max dropped his hand to the side, his face bearing a confused expression. “Where did you get it?”  
“Alya gave it to me,” Marinette said. “She said… Well, it doesn’t really matter, but I don’t want to use it.”  
Max paused for a moment, and picked up Marinette’s hand, placing the vial in the center of her palm. “You should keep it. Alya must have brewed it herself, so I’m guessing it’s pretty potent. Even if you don’t use it, I’m sure someone will pay a pretty good price for it. Just make sure they have good intentions.”

_ “Maxxxxxxx,” _ a slurred and drawling voice called from the living room. Soon after, a clearly hammered Kim appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were upset about it.”

Marinette quickly shoved the vial back into her pocket as Adrien entered the room, following close behind Kim. “We came up with a compromise,” Adrien said “The party will move up to the roof.”

“But the place is empty,” Max said. “And there’s no light up there. I’m not going to be liable for all of these drunk idiots falling and injuring themselves.”

“You doubt us too much,” Kim said, waving his hand absentmindedly.

Max grumbled, “I’m worried about this drunk idiot in particular.” 

“Uh, well,” Adrien said. Marinette stood frozen in place as Adrien’s eyes turned to her. “Marinette and I are still sober, so… I think we could figure something out.” 

The narrow stairway could barely fit two people side by side, and Marinette had ended up just following behind Adrien as they headed for the roof. She wanted to be able to see his face. She wanted to be able to tell what he was thinking now. 

They ended up standing in the middle of the roof, ten feet between them, as everyone  else filed through the roof access door, forming a circle around them. Any person not privy to the insight of the partygoers might have though that they were preparing for a duel. Their determined expressions made it seem all the more likely that one of them was about to knock the other off their feet. 

Marinette raised her arms, wand in hand, as though she were about to start conducting a symphony. Adrien followed her movements. The entire time, they never once took their eyes off each other. Marinette was certain she never once even blinked. She tried to block out the rest of the people around them and just focus on Adrien. It was usually a pretty easy thing to do, considering that most of the time when they practiced magic it was in a classroom free of distractions, but with the whispering it was impossible not to try and listen in. 

_ They were made for each other, they were evenly matched _ \- these were all things she had heard said about them before, but there was something else that changed the way those words fell on her ears now. Adrien had started smiling at her. It started small, just the tiniest uptick of his lips that eventually grew into a wide grin. 

The movements of his hand became much more quick and agile, and Marinette found herself having to up her pace to keep up with him. He was taking control of their dance now, but the overall goal hadn’t changed. They were still transforming the space around them into something different.

With one final flick of her wrist, Marinette sent the finishing touch of their magical display flying towards Adrien. The ball of light flew at high speeds across the length of the rooftop, and Adrien caught it with his outstretched wand with the usual ease he displayed whenever he wanted to show off. He added a completely unnecessary spin as he sent the ball of light spiraling out all around him, and the rooftop was lit up in a glorious display of shimmering, tiny stars. 

It was silent for a moment. Then someone turned the music back on again, and drinks started being passed around. Marinette and Adrien, however, still stood on opposite ends of the roof. She waited, unsure of whether or not to just turn around and join the rest of the party, but Adrien took one step, and then another. He made his way towards her, and Marinette felt she had no choice to meet him in the middle of the space between them. 

“Do you want to leave, now?” Adrien asked, leaning down close to Marinette’s ear. He remained incredibly close to her as she nodded her head, and, without warning, Adrien took Marinette’s hand and led her back down the stairs. 

She felt it then, more than she probably ever had before, that lovesick feeling settling in her chest.

.*.*.*.*.

“They can really make up that easily?” Nino asked.

“You’ve never seen the two of them working together on a bad day,” Alya said. “They’re  top of their class, best at partnering magic. But do you know why they work so well together? Because they make each other happy.” 

Alya sighed, standing to her feet as she began pacing about the room. “I mean, think about it,” she said. “Everyone else is using their magic to be popular, or for progress, or whatever ambition they have. Marinette and Adrien want for nothing except each other. If they could realize that, then they’d finally be happy together. And that’s why- 

.*.*.*.*.

_ “That’s why…”  _

Adrien had his arm wrapped tightly around Marinette’s waist, keeping her so close to him that she was leaning her head on his chest as they walked. Midnight was fast approaching, and they moved at a brisk pace in order to make it to the Champs de Mars and watched the light show above the Eiffel Tower once the clock struck twelve. 

“What should we get to eat first?” Adrien asked. “Popcorn, or that one stall that sells dumplings? Ooh, or the guy who sells those magic chocolates where the filling changes as you eat it!”

“I don’t care,” Marinette said, laughing at how excited he had gotten in the span of five seconds over food. “As long as it’s hot.” 

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Adrien said. He let out a contented sigh. “I’ve been waiting all day for this.” 

As they entered the festival grounds, Marinette remained close to Adrien as she could to avoid getting lost in the crowd.

“Do you remember that year you actually did get lost>” Adrien asked. “Alya, Nino, and I had to spend the whole night looking for you.”

“Oh, right,” Marinette said nodding. “You told the announcer that I was a lost child who needed to be returned to her  _ parents.”  _

“That was all Alya and Nino, I swear!”

“It was still embarrassing.”

She was stumbling to keep in time with his steps, and Adrien moved his arm from her waist and intertwined their fingers. He smiled looking down at her, a slight hint of mockery behind it. “Safety precaution.” 

They went from stall to stall, gathering up all of their favorite foods before heading over to watch the lights. Between them, they had enough food to feed at least six people, but Adrien had just kept repeating that he was optimistic that they could finish it all by themselves. They had left the area with all the food stalls now, and were wandering through the carnival games, which were much more crowded. Parents were being dragged along by their kids from game to game. 

“Step right up! Step right up!” A man was shouting, standing under a sign that was for a “Tunnel of Love” type ride. “Take a ride through the Tunnel of Love, the perfect place to be at midnight with your sweetheart to guarantee a lifetime of happiness together!” 

“I could think of ten different places I’d rather be than a dirty carnival ride,” Adrien said, shaking his head. “Imagine having to tell your grandkids years from now that the place you were tonight was a creaky boat ride with a sweaty man screaming at you.” 

“I don’t know,” Marinette said, looking at the line of people waiting to get on. “Some people might find it romantic.”

“You and I might have very different ideas of what counts as romantic.” 

“I said some people.” Marinette rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say me, specifically.” 

Adrien suddenly stopped walking, and Marinette would have almost gone past him if it weren’t for the grip on her hand. She turned back to look at him. 

“What do you find romantic?” Adrien asked. 

The sudden question threw Marinette’s entire brain to a screeching halt. “Me? Romantic? I mean- what do I find romantic? Uh, I guess, just being with the person you love is enough.” Marinette took a deep breath, and it felt as though Adrien was trying to tug her back close to him by her hand. She ripped it out of his grasp and started walking again. “What’s that over there?” 

Marinette stopped in front of a ring toss game and started digging into her purse for money. Adrien had followed her, stopping at her side, and Marinette thanked the heavens that her hand was stuck in her purse and not hanging at her side. If Adrien Agreste grabbed her hand one more time tonight without giving her at least a warning first, she might just pass out. 

“You really want to play this?” Adrien asked. 

“Well, yeah,” Marinette said. “Alya and Nino aren’t here to win us anything this year.” 

Marinette slammed the money down on the table. “One game, please.” 

Adrien looked at her skeptically as she took off her coat and shoved it into his arms. 

Marinette swung her arms around, getting ready to make her first toss. It would at least be something else she could focus on for a minute rather than the person standing next to her. It really felt like he was breathing down her neck, like no matter what, Adrien wouldn't let her forget that he was beside her. 

“Just hold onto that for me, will you?” Marinette said without looking at him. She picked up the first ring and tossed it, missing completely. 

“Okay, well have fun losing,” Adrien said with a laugh. “I’m going to go find us a spot for the show.”

Marinette just waved her hand absent-mindedly as he walked off. She tossed another ring, once again not hitting her mark, and her hand paused as she reached for the next one. Marinette turned her head, watching as Adrien disappeared into the crowd. All along the way, people were stepping out the way for him, some taking their phones out for pictures and videos. Had they been doing that while she had been walking with him, too, and she just hadn’t noticed? 

Marinette shook her head and turned back to the game, making another horrible attempt to win one of the stuffed animal prizes. 

It probably wasn’t any use. Not trying to win the stuffed animal, but thinking that there was no possible way that people weren’t watching Adrien every second of every day as he went about his life. All Marinette was in that equation was one of his best friends/possible girlfriend - but any time one of those speculations had been made, Adrien had just laughed it off. The multiple memories made Marinette throw the ring even harder towards the bottles. 

“You know you’re supposed to try and aim, right?” the man running the booth asked. Marinette glared at him and picked up her last ring.

She sighed as she twisted it in her fingers. As long as Adrien wanted to pretend to be blissfully ignorant, to pretend that the things that bothered him didn’t really affect him at all, there was probably nothing Marinette could do to help him. Except…

There was always another kind of blissful ignorance she could help him achieve. People were happier when they were in love, right? 

Marinette shook her head frantically, trying to get rid of those thoughts. She made one last toss and turned away from the table, not even looking at where the ring had landed. 

Being in love with her wouldn’t make Adrien happy. In fact, Marinette was certain at this point that she wasn’t the key to his happiness at all. He’d eventually find something - ,  _ someone _ \- and maybe they could fix everything for him. Show him how to stand up to his father, to the people who constantly wanted to push him around. She couldn’t do that for him, as much as she wanted to, as much as she had tried already. 

Marinette made her way to the viewing area for the Eiffel Tower’s light show. There were already a few lights shifting through the air, creating dots shining in the clouds, like giant laser pointers. She scanned the crowd, looking for where Adrien might have been. He had gone ahead to pick their spot, but it was entirely possible he had gotten sidetracked by the cotton candy booth on the way there and Marinette just hadn’t seen him when she had passed. 

She turned around in circles, hoping to spy a mess of blond hair somewhere in the crowd. Eventually, it was the blue coat draped over his arm that made her notice him. “Adrien!” Marinette called out.  
He turned, looking confused as to where the voice shouting his name had come from. As he spotted her, Adrien waved with this free hand, beckoning her over to where he was standing-

His free hand. Marinette froze in shock as she realized what he was holding in his other hand and raising to his lips. The tiny glass vial she had been keeping in her pocket had been found, and now Adrien was seconds away from downing it completely. 

Marinette raced forward, reaching out her hand. By the time she had made it to him, Adrien had already tilted his head back and poured the contents of the vial down his throat. Marinette smacked the glass out of his hands seconds too late, and it crashed and broke on the concrete at their feet.

“Adrien! What the hell are you thinking?!” Marinette yelled. She began smacking his face, and Adrien coughed. “Spit it out! Spit it out!” 

.*.*.*.*.*.

_ “...That’s why I didn’t even give her a real love potion.”  _

.*.*.*.*.

“What?! What was it,? It just tasted like hot chocolate” Adrien said, trying to shove Marinette’s hands away from him. “Marinette, I already swallowed it! What did I just drink?!”

Marinette stepped back, dropping her hands to her sides. “You don’t- do you feel any different?” 

“Different, what? How?” Adrien looked confused and slightly panicked. 

Marinette, however, was trying to stay completely calm.

“You don’t feel any different when you look at me,” Marinette said. She felt a slight blush creeping up her cheeks, and she wanted to smack herself. 

“No,” Adrien said, shaking his head. “I feel the same way about you I always have.” 

Marinette bent down and picked up the biggest shard of glass she could find, bringing it to her nose to see if she could identify exactly what the vial had contained. It was exactly as Adrien had said. Hot chocolate.

“Oh my God,” Marinette said, tossing her head back and letting out a frustrated yell. “Oh my God, Alya! I’m going to kill her!” 

Adrien grabbed onto Mairnette’s arms. “Wait, Marinette, tell me what’s happening?!” 

“She- I can’t believe she really,” Marinette said, and started laughing hysterically. “Oh my God, I can’t believe she really thought this would work! What if I had actually tried to slip it to you, or had tried to sell it in some back alley, or- oh my God, Max! Max must have known it was a fake and didn’t say anything! I’m going to kill him, too.”   


“I don’t understand,” Adrien said. “What’s the big deal? What did Alya tell you it was supposed to be?”

“She told me it was a love potion,” Marinette yelled. “A freaking love potion! And, I- so many things could have gone wrong, I can’t believe she thought that was a good idea!” 

Marinette pulled herself out of Adrien’s grasp and ran her hands down her face. She groaned in frustration, and, honestly, almost felt like she was about to cry. “I can’t believe she would do this to me. Well, I can actually kind of believe it, but the fact that I carried it around feeling guilty all night… It felt like such a betrayal… I-”

With her hands still covering her face, Marinette did see Adrien close the distance between them, but she felt his hand come to rest on the top of her head, and then his other arm slip around her back as he pulled her close into him. The air felt hot, and her cries became muffled as she rested her covered face against his chest. Adrien’s hand ran down her hair, smoothing it out and occasionally catching on a tangled knot, which he tried his best to brush out with his fingers. 

“Why would you,” Adrien asked, pausing for a moment before he continued. “Why would you feel so bad about carrying around a love potion with you?”

Marinette drew in a huge breath of air. “Because having it made me- having it made me feel like- like I didn’t deserve you if I even began to think about it being there.” 

Marinette wanted to just dissolve there on the spot. She knew what words were coming next, and knew that they would end up coming out now even if she still tried to stop them. It was too late to go back though, and all she could do now was be dumbfounded in the moment of truth. 

“Because I already love you, Adrien, and I didn’t want that to be the way you love me.” 

Adrien’s hand froze halfway down her neck. As he stepped back and moved his hands up to her wrists, Marinette tried to keep her palms covering her face. It was practically useless to try and keep hiding from him at this point, but she remained still as he tried to pry them away. 

“Marinette, look at me,” Adrien pleaded. “Please?”   


She let her arms relax and Adrien pulled them away, revealing her bright red cheeks and puffy eyes. Marinette was so scared to look at his expression, to see the anger in his eyes - but there wasn’t any. 

“You love me?” Adrien asked. “Please, tell me you love me again.” 

“I-” Marinette said, pausing to wipe away the tears running down her cheeks. “I love you.” 

Laughing was not what Marinette had expected Adrien to do, but it started out as a small giggle, and grew into a loud, bright laugh. Adrien drew her back into him, lifting her off the ground with such ease that Marinette shrieked in surprise. “You love me!” he exclaimed, and set her back down, brushing her bangs out of her eyes as his laughter died down. “I thought I was the one waiting to hear you say it, but you were waiting for me, too.” 

“We’re really stupid. Mostly me,” Marinette said with a soft laugh. “ I let every second I wanted to tell you pass, because I was too scared. Well, scared, stupid, and more blind than probably should have been possible.”

“Eh, apples to apples in this case,” Adrien said with a shrug. As Adrien made sure she was placed steadily back onto her feet, his gaze turned much softer, and one hand reached up to brush his thumb along with her the line of her cheekbone. “I love you, too, you know?” 

.*.*.*.*.

“Alright, hold on a second,” Nino said, holding his hands out in front of him. “You’ve come up with this elaborate plan, calculated for every possible emotional reaction, and then didn’t even give them a real love potion? How could you be sure this would work?!”

“Marinette would have never used the love potion anyway.” Alya waved her hand absentmindedly. “I just gave it to her for the added guilt. Once they got to where they needed to be, it wouldn’t take much for them to start pouring their hearts out to each other anyway.” 

“Okay, well, if you were able to predict that much so far,” Nino said. “Tell me what you think is going to happen next?”

.*.*.*.*.

Marinette barely had a second to anticipate Adrien kissing her. Her eyes were still open by the time their lips met, but, soon after, she melted into his touch, drawing him in deeper. They didn’t even notice that around them the light show had started playing, and some church nearby bells had started ringing, signaling that midnight had come. Adrien had lifted Marinette up off her feet again as Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck. 

When they finally broke apart, they stood with their foreheads resting against one another, feeling the need to catch their breath for a moment.

_ “Je t'aime,” _ Adrien whispered and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

Marinette couldn’t help but smile as she drew back and looked into his eyes. _ “Je t’aimais déjà.”  _


End file.
